swade's Profile
- J. Swade
- 2008
- Manhattan
- Male
- 34
Author's Posts
September 11, 2009
C of O Change in Loft
Does anyone know what's involved with changing the occupancy usage from work to live work? Can anyone recommend an attorney with specific knowledge to this sort of thing? Thanks!
September 3, 2009
Changing Commercial Zoned Floor
Hi guys,
I am looking at purchasing a floor in a 4 story loft that is zoned for commercial use. The first two floors of the building are zoned commercial and the top two are zoned residential. The thing is I would not need the entire space for my business. So my question is does anyone know if it's possible to change a floor to a work/live zoning and if so how involved is this? Additionally, what are the ramifications of just living and working out of a commercial zoned floor in a building like this? Do city officials actually drop by to see if there are living quarters? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
June 18, 2009
Williamsburg Northside Schools
Can someone in the know shed some light on prime Northside Williamsburg. With all of the new construction, won't there soon be a decent grade school in the area? I know that sales have been slow at the new waterfront properties but still one would think a school would emerge that would be comparable to some of the other more established Brooklyn neighborhoods. Can a school expert or two weigh in on this? Thanks!!!
June 4, 2009
Best Public Grade Schools in BK?
I know about insideschools.org. I know about the 3 or 4 good Public Schools in Park Slope. I know about Brooklyn Heights but other than that where are the good public grade schools in Brooklyn? Can someone with knowledge help me cut through the BS and let me know which hoods to narrow my search to?! Thanks!
May 25, 2009
Financing a 5 family purchase?
I am far from an expert on loans and I'm interested in purchasing a 5 family house to live in and then receive income from the rentals on. Can anyone explain to me the difference between a 4 and 5 family in terms of financing? Does a 5 family mean FHA is not a possibilty? Also, am I free to get free market rent on the 4 rental units in a 5 family if it is delivered vacant? Thanks for your help!
April 22, 2009
The Cost of New Construction?
Trying to weigh buying a very rundown old house that needs a costly gut renovation versus buying a lot for less money and starting from scratch. Can you weigh in on ballpark costs of new construction per square foot in Brooklyn (Williamsburg). The house we would build would be around 25 wide x 35 deep and would be 4 stories (3 family). Would renovating the crappy house still be a ton cheaper? What about the tax ramifications? Thanks so much for any input!
April 6, 2009
Opinions-Northside Williamsburg
I am looking at buying a 2 family, 3 story gut reno wood frame over brick home in prime Northside. Building is 22 wide by 30 deep. I could add another floor according to the FAR. It needs everything and I am curious to get opinions on what I should be aiming to pay in this market. I understand it's hard without showing pictures but just looking to get some very ballpark opinions. Thanks!
Author's Comments
Thanks for the input everyone especially young archi!
It is a residential district. There is no historical or landmark designation. It only has 4 floors and the top floors are zoned residential. I think they benefited from the artist conversion thing years ago. The bottom floor and the second floor are commercial. My place is on the second floor. Building classification is L9 (Loft Misc).
Does this give you a better sense of my probability?
Thanks again!
Posted by: swade at September 12, 2009 12:52 PM in response to C of O Change in Loft
Okay yes then - is this changeable?
Posted by: swade at September 3, 2009 10:22 PM in response to Changing Commercial Zoned Floor
Okay yes then - is this changeable?
Posted by: swade at September 3, 2009 10:22 PM in response to Changing Commercial Zoned Floor
Obviously this was not bought in 2006 for the price you mentioned. That was close to the height of the market and you're telling me they paid a !990's price for it? Yeah right. I don't think sites like Property Shark serve as legitimate resources all the time. This is one of those times.
Posted by: swade at June 18, 2009 7:27 PM in response to House of the Day: 78 Douglass Street
Seems like a questionable location being so close to bedstuy. I know its a nice block but bedstuy will never change at least not for a long long time.
Posted by: swade at June 17, 2009 4:21 PM in response to House of the Day: 385 Grand Avenue
swade wrote a review about Acqua Santa on June 5, 2009 12:32 PM
They have a really nice filet. Beautiful space.
swade wrote a review about Acqua Santa on June 5, 2009 12:32 PM
They have a really nice filet. Beautiful space.
Great info guys, thanks so much!
Posted by: swade at June 4, 2009 9:49 AM in response to Best Public Grade Schools in BK?
Isn't the answer really somewhere in the middle of the two schools of thought. Yes the Brooklyn townhouse market will continue to drop. No it won't drop as severe as the Manhattan co-op market. Yes Brooklyn is it's own entity with unique attributes, separate from Manhattan. But yes the proximity of Manhattan inherently affects prices in Brooklyn.
Posted by: swade at May 7, 2009 10:48 AM in response to Pam Liebman: Brooklyn Doing Better Than the Rest
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Okay yes then - is this changeable?
Posted by: swade at September 3, 2009 10:22 PM in response to Changing Commercial Zoned Floor
It is unlikely that a DOB inspector would drop by. More problematic would be a visit from the FDNY in the case of an alarm, false or otherwise. The FDNY is required to report any discrepancy in occupancy to the DOB. DOB may choose to act on that or not depending on the severity. You could under extreme conditions be forced to vacate although having the upper floors residential probably precludes that. You could get a violation that says "space is being occupied contrary to allowed zoning or C of O". This would cause all sorts of problems with financing and insurance for everyone in the building.
Furthermore, you couldn't simply bring the part you are living in up to residential code and ignore the rest of the space. The old AIR program simply allowed loft spaces artists occupied to be brought up to residential code over time but never allowed them to retain a lesser commercial status.
To actually answer your question, the entire space would have to be made legally residential.
Posted by: modsquad at September 4, 2009 8:49 AM in response to Changing Commercial Zoned Floor
Depending on the specific type of commercial zoning, residential occupancy on the 2nd floor may or may not be permitted. If zoning prevents ground- or second-floor residential occupancy, you'd have to change the zoning (which is often harder than just changing the C of O). If you have the address of the property, the Department of City Planning should be able to help. You can call their zoning help desk to find out exactly what's permitted.
Posted by: lgs782 at September 4, 2009 11:59 AM in response to Changing Commercial Zoned Floor
If its a residential district you can't have JLQW but you can have home occupation (usually limited to 25% and/or 500 sf (whichever is less)) but can be increased in certain districts....)
Top floors and lower floors can be different uses but wouldn't be in separate zones....
Are you sure its residential?
I wouldn't want to send my address over the internet but can you tell me the Block (numerically) you're located on? I should be able to tell your zoning district from that - if the block is bisected by two zoning districts i'll let you know...
Posted by: young archi at September 13, 2009 12:13 PM in response to C of O Change in Loft
young archi - my email is therealjswade@gmail.com - can you email me? that would be amazing!
Posted by: swade at September 14, 2009 9:27 PM in response to C of O Change in Loft
young archi - my email is therealjswade@gmail.com - can you email me? that would be amazing!
Posted by: swade at September 14, 2009 9:27 PM in response to C of O Change in Loft